World in Prayer

Sharing in God’s loving compassion for all

Prayers for Italy

Migration across the Mediterranean is the thread running longest through the prayers for Italy, with rescue at sea, closed ports, and asylum seekers awaiting welcome. Earthquakes, a bridge collapse, drought in the north, and the pandemic are named too, along with thanks for work against trafficking.

Seek the Peace of the City: Prayers for the Colombia Ceasefire and Italy’s Earthquake Dead (September 1, 2016)

In an ancient time, our spiritual forebears were conquered and exiled. And the prophet Jeremiah wrote them a letter about how to deal with their calamities. In the various spirits with which those banished people listened to his letter read out, we open ourselves to you in prayer, O God. Jeremiah, speaking for you, told […]

A New Heaven and a New Earth: Prayers for Syrian Refugees Lost at Sea and for Flint’s Water (April 21, 2016)

Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth; for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away… Revelation 21:1 There are days and times, Holy God, when our wish for a new earth is almost overwhelming; days and times when, as we look around this old earth, we can see only […]

Lord, Hear Our Lament: Prayers for Fiji’s Cyclone and Acid Attack Survivors in India (February 25, 2016)

Lord, as your cherished people we adore you for your unfailing love toward all creation.   Your thoughts are not ours; we recognize that your thinking is on a far greater scale than our mere time and place even when we do not understand.  Your ways not ours, yet you call us into new ways […]

Lift Up the Light of Your Countenance: For Migrants Drowned Near Italy and for Yemen (April 16, 2015)

Many are saying, “Oh, that we might see better times!” Lift up the light of your countenance upon us, O LORD.     – Psalm 4:6   In this season of resurrection, lift up the light of your countenance upon us, O Lord, that we may see your risen Son, Jesus Christ, who walks with us, […]

Love the Least of These: Prayers for Migrants Drowned Off Libya and for Chapel Hill (February 12, 2015)

As we prepare ourselves for the holy season of Lent, let us reflect in prayer on the words of our Lord Jesus Christ: that when we love the least of these, we love you, Lord. Help us to love the least of these in prison. We pray for prisoners throughout the world. We pray that […]

May There Be Peace: A Prayer for the International Day of Peace (September 18, 2014)

As the UN marks the International Day of Peace and the World Council of Churches invites us to join the International Day of Prayer for Peace this September 21st, let us pray for peace in our hearts and minds, in our families, in our communities, in our nations, and throughout the world. Our Lord Jesus […]

So Many Treasures Are Hidden: Prayers After MH17 and the Taiwan Plane Crash (July 24, 2014)

So many treasures are hidden Lord: When we gave thanks along with the mother whose 2 sons were saved by the actions of a stranger, Reis Leming, in East Anglia in 1953, we were not to know that one would became a professor in Cambridge, England; the other a professor in MIT.   Lord, we […]

A Good Friday Vigil: Prayers for the Korean Ferry, South Sudan, Forgiveness, and New Beginnings (April 17, 2014)

I write this during the long vigil between Maundy Thursday and Good Friday. The time when those who follow the ancient traditions of the Christian church year stay up and keep watch with Jesus, as he prays in agony in the Garden of Gethsemane. We have, once again, been present as he washes the disciples’ […]

Salt of the Earth: Prayers for the Sochi Olympics, the Dan River Coal Ash Spill, and Homs (February 6, 2014)

Jesus, you call us to be the salt of the earth and the light of the world. May we shine the light of your peace and love to its farthest corners as we remember your world in our prayers.  We pray for Russia as it hosts the Winter Olympics in Sochi, for the athletes who […]